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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23353237">Pictures in the Dark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaeorin/pseuds/kaeorin'>kaeorin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Loki's Lullabies [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Affection, Comfort, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/M, Lullabies, Memories, Nighttime, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Post-Coital Cuddling, Touching, closeness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:07:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,300</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23353237</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaeorin/pseuds/kaeorin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The two of you take turns remembering your early moments together. (Fluff without plot. This is intended to be a little fluff-bomb to help you sleep.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Loki (Marvel)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Loki's Lullabies [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678240</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>303</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Pictures in the Dark</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As perfect as he was, as gorgeous and thoughtful and generous, and as careful as he was when he took you to bed, some of your favorite moments with Loki always came after. You treasured the moments when, exhausted and breathless, one of you collapsed next to the other in the sheets and you lost yourself in the other’s body.</p><p>Tonight it was your turn to curl yourself around him. Sated and sore (but of course only in the best way), you lowered yourself to the mattress beside him. You were half on your belly, half on your side, with your head nestled in that perfect place beneath his chin. When you slid one leg across his, he wrapped his arm around your back and pulled you close. You loved this. Your skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, but so did his. With his free hand, he pushed your hair back away from your face and smiled at you. That was your smile. He never looked at anyone else with such affection, such vulnerability. If your cheeks weren’t always flush with exertion, you might have blushed at that smile like you always did.</p><p>Neither of you spoke. There wasn’t much to say, really. Instead, you lapsed into a loving quiet so each of you could focus on the feel of the other’s body. You loved the smooth, pale expanse of his chest and the way his muscles sometimes flexed when you touched him. He caressed your back, alternating between long smooth strokes and swirling abstract designs. You knew that he liked the way he could make goosebumps erupt along your skin, make you shiver and bury your face against him.</p><p>Slowly, the strokes morphed into something a little different. He was drawing something. A ring of large, looping shapes—like the petals of a flower. You kept your eyes closed as you tried to follow along with his picture, and pressed gentle kisses to the skin of his shoulder as you did. They were petals. He was drawing a flower on your back. It reminded you of the first time you’d spent time alone together: you’d gone on a walk through the streets of the city. He hadn’t been thrilled at the idea, and you didn’t miss the way that many people on the street recoiled from him when they recognized his face from the news broadcasts. On an impulse, you’d reached out to take his hand, in hopes of showing the onlookers that he was different now. He’d seemed surprised, but not entirely put-off. When you’d passed a little flower stand, you’d stopped in your tracks. Before he could stop you, you’d bought a little bouquet of daisies, and then turned to tuck one of the flowers behind his ear. He, in turn, had done the same to you, and then you’d just...gazed at each other for a while. He’d held your face in his palms so gently, like you were something precious. </p><p>Taking his lead, you began your own little drawing right there on his chest. A few days after that walk through the city, you’d woken up well before anyone else in the Tower. You enjoyed quiet mornings by yourself, especially when you could sit out on a balcony looking down at the city. Surrounded by the misty grey of early-morning, you’d watched the sky even as the city ground to life beneath you. After some time, someone opened the sliding door behind you, and you startled and turned to see who it was. Loki, of course, stepped carefully out onto the balcony holding two large mugs. He’d handed you one, and the comforting smell of coffee overtook your senses. You’d taken a sip. He’d gotten it exactly right. Neither of you said much of anything as you sat together for most of the morning. Slowly, you formed the shape of a little mug, complete with steam pouring out of the top.</p><p>He covered your hand with his and, when you looked up at him, he smiled. His eyes flashed with a challenge even as he brushed an open palm gently along your back as though clearing the slate to start again. This new drawing was mostly curving lines arching across your entire back. It was hard to make any sense of it, even when Loki pulled his hand away as though to tell you he’d finished. Even after the most recent round of goosebumps had faded, you couldn’t make sense of it. Perhaps he realized that, and tried again.</p><p>The curves reminded you of the body of a snake. Perhaps that was it? There had been a traveling reptile show, once, and you’d asked him to take you, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to resist. The two of you had looked a little out of place there among all the families with young children, but you’d always been uneasily fascinated by snakes, so you’d forced much of your discomfort away. At the end, the presenters allowed the crowd to interact with some of their larger snakes, and you’d joined the line quickly, before you could change your mind. When it was your turn, the man grinned at you and began to unwind a large snake from around his shoulders. He settled it on your own before you could decide whether you wanted to refuse. The solid weight of the creature was...almost soothing as it moved carefully in search of more stability. You ran your fingers along the top of its head, taking in the smooth pebbled feel of its scales. Almost giddy, you’d looked up at Loki, perhaps to verify that he was actually seeing this as well, that it was actually happening, and he’d looked...thunderstruck. When the presenter took back the snake and you walked off with Loki, he’d reached out to take your hand on his own.</p><p>Loki drew what could only have been a forked tongue and you nuzzled your face against him. He was thinking the same things. You took his skin gently between your teeth and then ran your fingers down his chest to make wavy patterns of your own. Early on, when you were more than friends but not yet quite more than that, your sister had sent you a box of nonsense. Both of you did that from time to time: spent entirely too much money on silly junk at discount stores and bodegas and then boxed it all up to mail to one another. She’d apparently raided some kind of costume shop, because your box was filled with, among other things, paper crowns. Delighted, you’d immediately donned one of your own to wear as you sorted through the rest of her strange little gifts. Loki had chosen that moment to join you, and without thinking about it, you had reached to place a crown on his head as well. When you’d finished, you sank into a deep bow and murmured “My king...” When you straightened again, he’d closed the distance between you and crushed his mouth against yours.</p><p>You drew a simple crown, one with three sharp points with gems set into each one. He tightened his arm around you in almost immediate understanding, and you lifted your head to look at him again. His face was still soft, open, as he gazed at you, but now there was something just a little sharper in his eyes. He must have been remembering the same thing. You smiled faintly at him and covered your drawing with your hand. “My king.”</p><p>He pressed his hand against your back and sat up just enough to capture your lips with his. When he’d finished, he pulled back just enough so that, when he spoke, you could feel his lips move against your own. “My queen.”</p>
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